Imperial Cultivation

Perhaps someone saw an opportunity to muddy the waters and took decisive action.

Lu Wan snorted, "Except for the Hou Tu Sect, no one knows about this Earth Dragon Orb, let alone its wonderful uses."

Without knowing the wonderful uses of the Earth Dragon Orb, they wouldn't risk offending a Grandmaster to steal it, especially with the danger of being caught.

"Elder Lu," Chu Zhiyuan said, "There are no walls that don't let wind through, especially since your own disciples know about it, right? How can you expect others not to know?"

"They wouldn't blurt it out."

"They wouldn't blurt it out, but they might inadvertently let something slip. Besides, how many people saw and heard what happened that night?"

"…"

"We can't be chaotic now, we must prevent someone from stirring up trouble and secretly adding fuel to the fire," Chu Zhiyuan said.

He had read too many case files, there were too many incidents of killing with a borrowed knife.

"I think it's the Hou Tu Sect," Lu Wan's voice was soft and slow, her expression firm, "No one else needs to do this, and probably no one else has the guts to do it."

"…In the current situation, the Hou Tu Sect will definitely not admit it," Chu Zhiyuan thought for a moment, "To catch a thief, you have to catch him red-handed, catch him in the act."

"No need to find the thief, just have the Hou Tu Sect hand over the item," Lu Wan said indifferently.

Chu Zhiyuan said helplessly, "Does that mean we have to ask Grandmaster Song to take action again?"

This Lu Wan would bring up Song Feiqiong at the drop of a hat.

Alarming Song Feiqiong would indeed bring great pressure to the Zongwu Si. Once Song Feiqiong took action, it would mean that the Zongwu Si was incompetent and would be punished.

Lu Wan said, "Does Your Excellency have a better solution?… Your Excellency can't make the Hou Tu Sect bow their heads either, right? They have confidence and backing, they wouldn't bother to pay attention."

Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

If Song Feiqiong personally took action, it would mean the dereliction of duty of the Zongwu Si. It was estimated that all the officials of the Zongwu Si this year wouldn't even get the bottom-line ninth-grade merit.

Could he make the Hou Tu Sect hand over the Earth Dragon Orb?

The answer was obvious, no.

Neither his identity as a Yuanwailang, nor his identity as the Heir Apparent of the Qing King's Mansion, would work.

The Hou Tu Sect was close to many officials and wouldn't be afraid of him, a mere Yuanwailang.

The Huai King's Mansion was far more prosperous than the Qing King's Mansion.

If the Qing King's Mansion was stronger than the Huai King's Mansion, the Hou Tu Sect might listen to him.

Neither identity could make the Hou Tu Sect bow their heads.

Seeing that Grandmaster Song was about to be alarmed and personally take action, what could he do?

Since he couldn't do anything, he should let the Langzhong or the Shangshu worry about it. The most important thing was to report it upwards in a timely manner, without delay.

Thinking of this, his heart sank, "Elder Lu, can I take a look at the scene?"

"…Your Excellency, please," Lu Wan hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

…

Chu Zhiyuan sized up the quiet room.

This was a simply furnished quiet room, with only a couch, a table, and a chair, without screens or other trivial items of furniture.

On the table were writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, a teapot, and teacups.

There were no quilts on the couch, only a small sandalwood box, about the size of a palm, at the head of the bed.

The sandalwood box had already been opened, and inside, besides white silk, there was nothing else, it was empty.

"Who knows that the item was placed here?"

Chu Zhiyuan scrutinized the quiet room, which was spotless, neat and tidy, without any clutter. His super-sense was locked onto the small sandalwood box.

"Only Wanshan himself knows. Besides him, I don't even know where he put the orb."

"Only he himself…" Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

His super-sense captured a faint aura from within the small sandalwood box, an aura that suddenly caused an unusual change in him.

Like an extremely hungry person suddenly seeing a large table of delicious food, just looking at it made one salivate.

It seemed like countless small hands were growing in his body, eager to reach out and pull it into his stomach, into his body.

Who would have thought that it was actually a precious orb.

Then he realized that this was the appearance of the Earth Dragon Orb.

His super-sense broke the shackles of time and space, capturing the appearance of the Earth Dragon Orb.

He tried his best to suppress the strangeness in his body, keeping his expression calm.

The Dragon Transformation Art was running rapidly, and golden aura was surging through his meridians, nourishing and strengthening his meridians, three times faster than when he usually cultivated.

This Earth Dragon Orb has such a miraculous effect on the Dragon Transformation Art?

…

Lu Wan raised her voice, "Wanshan, come in."

"Senior Aunt," a clear voice came in, and a handsome young man walked in, with a majestic bearing and a cold expression.

Lu Wan said, "This is my sect's disciple, Xu Wanshan."

"Greetings, Your Excellency Yuanwailang," Xu Wanshan cupped his fist with a somber face.

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fist slightly, his gaze enveloping Xu Wanshan, "When did Young Hero Xu discover that the item was lost?"

His super-sense also locked onto Xu Wanshan in front of him.

His heartbeat changes, subtle expressions, the frequency of his eyes flickering, the expansion and contraction of his pupils, muscle contraction and relaxation, subtle changes in posture, changes in the center of gravity of his feet, skin tension and relaxation, breathing rate, throat tightness, subtle movements of his limbs.

Everything, everything, was presented in his mind, illuminated by him.

"Last night," Xu Wanshan said in a deep voice, "When I came back from outside and came to the quiet room to prepare for practice, as soon as I opened the box, I found it was empty."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Who knows it's here?"

"No one else knows!" Xu Wanshan said decisively.

Chu Zhiyuan's super-sense illuminated Xu Wanshan, guarding against him lying and preventing him from stealing from himself.

Although this idea was bizarre and strange, after reading those case files, he found that there were too many more bizarre things in the world.

As revealed by his super-sense, Xu Wanshan was not lying. As soon as last night was mentioned, his blood surged, his pupils dilated, and his anger value greatly increased.

He thought to himself, "This Xu Wanshan is actually at the first level of the Innate Realm. Judging by his age, he's not much older than me, so he's clearly a martial arts prodigy."

Gao Lingfeng mentioned that the genius of the Flying Blossom Sword Sect's current generation should be this Xu Wanshan. He appears confident, even arrogant.

Of course, he's also unconvinced by my status as a Prince and a Vice Minister.

Martial arts geniuses are inevitably proud and look down on everyone else.

He's just seen too few geniuses. If he saw more geniuses from other sects, and saw Huang Shirong's cultivation, he should restrain his arrogance and realize the immensity of the world, that there's always someone better.

"My lord," Lu Wan said softly, "The Thick Earth Sect should have a special method to sense this pearl.… Since Wanshan obtained this pearl, he has never shown it to anyone except me.… After we arrived in Jade Capital, the Thick Earth Sect suddenly came to demand it. Before that, we didn't even know what kind of pearl it was."

The only ones who could accurately locate the Earth Dragon Pearl when no one knew where it was hidden are the experts from the Thick Earth Sect.

This matter is a conspiracy. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that when you and Senior Brother Yang were transferred out, a thief broke in, and this thief didn't steal anything else, but stole the Earth Dragon Pearl.

Divine objects conceal themselves. On the outside, the Earth Dragon Pearl looks like a stone pearl, ordinary and unremarkable. No one would even pick it up if it was dropped on the ground.

If it were a real thief, they would steal gold, silver, or martial arts manuals. Why would they even glance at this stone pearl?

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Xu Wanshan: "Young Hero Xu, can you sense its aura?"

"I can!" Xu Wanshan said proudly, "As long as I get within ten meters of it, I can sense its presence."

"That's good.… Elder Lu, don't rush to trouble Grandmaster Song," Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "I will report the matter truthfully and see how Minister Shangshu decides."

"Since my lord has said so, then I won't go to find Uncle Song today.… I'll go tomorrow."

"Then let's wait a little longer…" Chu Zhiyuan looked at her with a smile.

This Lu Wan can be described as gentle on the outside but firm on the inside.

He turned around and patted Xu Wanshan on the shoulder: "Young Hero Xu, don't worry, what's yours will eventually be yours."

The Dragon Transformation Art instantly accelerated again, surging through his meridians like a raging tide.

This was caused by the residual aura of the Earth Dragon Pearl in Xu Wanshan's body.

Xu Wanshan made a subconscious dodging movement, but he didn't have time to react before Chu Zhiyuan patted him.

He awkwardly twitched the corners of his mouth and forced a smile.

Chu Zhiyuan withdrew his palm with a smile and looked at Lu Wan: "Elder Lu, farewell."

"Thank you, my lord." Lu Wan cupped her fist in salute.

Under the respectful farewell of Lu Wan and her group, and surrounded by Guo Chi and the guards, Chu Zhiyuan slowly left.

The Town Guard has experts who can track by capturing auras and following the scent.

But this requires an aura.

The aura left on the sandalwood box was extremely weak.

Then this thief is by no means an ordinary thief, but must be a top thief, possessing extraordinary skills and secret arts to conceal and erase their own aura.

After stealing the Earth Dragon Pearl, they would find a place far away from Jade Capital, dig a deep pit and bury it. Tracking it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Or treasures like the cold jade box could completely isolate the aura.

It would be almost impossible to find it without a Grandmaster.

It's just unknown whether a Grandmaster could do it.

Grandmasters are incredibly powerful, beyond ordinary imagination, and can sometimes overcome the obstacles of time and space.

Then it's really hard to say whether the Earth Dragon Pearl was stolen by experts from the Thick Earth Sect.

Does the Thick Earth Sect have such a powerful thief?

Or did the Thick Earth Sect collude with powerful experts to steal it?

Would they entrust such a treasure to others?

This matter is shrouded in mist. Thinking of this, he glanced around and unknowingly arrived at the South Heaven Gate.

Super-sense captured the aura and followed it to this place. Going forward would be leaving the inner city and entering the outer city of Jade Capital.

Jade Capital is divided into inner and outer cities.

The original Jade Capital wasn't that big, but it became more and more prosperous, and more and more people poured in. So it was expanded outside the original Jade Capital, forming a larger outer city.

The inner city is prosperous and safe, so land prices are high. It gradually squeezed out the original common people, and later it was all inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles.

Ordinary people or general wealthy merchants can only live in the outer city.

Most of the sects and schools are in the outer city.

Entering the inner city requires the approval of the imperial court.

Like the branch courtyards of the Four Great Sects and the Flying Blossom Sword Sect, as well as the altars of sects such as the True Unity Sect of the Thick Earth Sect, all have no bad records, and no records of committing crimes or killing innocent people indiscriminately.

Compared to the stability of the inner city, the outer city is a mixed bag. Even if the city guards are strong, and there are patrols by the Town Guard, it is still more dangerous.

Chu Zhiyuan thought for a while and didn't go further out. Before becoming a Grandmaster, it's not advisable to go to the outer city to avoid endangering his life.

The Earth Dragon Pearl is important, but no matter how important it is, it's not as important as life.

He turned around and walked back, returning to the Ministry of Rites and wrote an official document in his office, asking Gao Lingfeng to present it.

He slowly left the Ministry of Rites, wandered around the city, looked at the altars of those sects, and found that they were ordinary and unremarkable.

But he didn't underestimate them because of this.

These sects are probably hiding their own intentions and know the method of concealing their abilities, just like the Thick Earth Sect. Before discovering Feng Zhihao's practice, the abnormality of the Earth Venerable Statue couldn't be seen.

Without super-sense, the abnormality of the True Unity Sect couldn't be seen either.

After walking around, he returned to the mansion next to the Bright Moon Pavilion and continued to cultivate.